1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to collaborative learning environments in a distributed network and, in particular, to methods and systems for visually displaying and navigating virtual classrooms.
2. Related Art
Public and private institutions of learning with classrooms of desks, chalkboards, overhead projectors and screens, video and television and like means for delivering knowledge have long been the traditional means for educating students. More recently, the Internet has provided a new medium for information storage and retrieval. The versatility of the Internet, rich multimedia content and the breadth of information contained therein are but a few of the reasons why educators are using the Internet to supplement or replace traditional means for educating students. But, there are many factors that have influenced the conventional means of training and educating. Such factors may include the limited availability of quality teachers, the globalization of institutions and corporations, the importance of skill updating, self-learning and an increase in part-time and continuing education have led to the popularity of alternative learning and training environments such as the Internet.
Among the more recent developments in the field of education are computer assisted “collaborative learning environments” for use over distributed networks. An example of such a collaborative learning environment is the Hewlett-Packard™ (HP) Virtual Classroom™, which facilitates a highly interactive training environment where participants can work as a group and collaborate on ideas, communicating with presenters and each other via voice, realtime text, or private one-on-one chat. The HP Virtual Classroom™ allows participants to ask questions, make comments and use a shared “White Board” to illustrate a point to the other classroom participants.
Conventional theories of organizational design are well documented in Daniel Robey, “Designing Organizations”, Irwin, Homewood, Ill., Second Edition, 1986, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. Views of an organization are useful for both management and employees. A conventional view for a hierarchical organization, such as the so-called “organization chart”, that is broken down by functional areas, e.g., human resources, research and development, marketing, etc., are well known in the art. Other forms of organizational designs that take advantage of multi-disciplinary teams, such as the matrix organization, are also well known in the art. Facilitating views of an organization may lead to improved organizational design and greater efficiencies. Collaborative learning environments such as the HP Virtual Classroom™ are also useful for facilitating a user's view, or even the design of an organization.
For example, specialized teams comprised of individuals with expertise for solving problems are routinely assembled within organizations. Once the problems are solved, the temporary teams may be disassembled and the resources reassigned to other tasks, conventional or specialized as the case may be. At any given time there may be tens or hundreds of such specialized teams within a given organization that are concurrently working on problems or exchanging information using virtual classrooms in a collaborative learning environment. Such a collaborative learning environment may be used for training, presentations, problem solving or any other use that requires persons to communicate with one another using rich media. The term “event” may be used herein to refer to particular instances of training, presentations, problem solving over a defined period of time in a virtual classroom within the collaborative learning environment.
For users of such collaborative learning environments, it may be difficult to navigate through a large number of virtual classrooms. For example, it may be difficult to determine how many participants are in each virtual classroom, the content or subject matter of the presentation, which classes or groups of persons within the organization (or universe of participants) are using the virtual classrooms and the timing of such events or classes.